The emu wars

'If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds, it would face any army in the world. They could face machine guns with the invulnerability of tanks. They are like Zulus, whom even dum dum bullets would not stop.' Major Meredith, Australian Army.

In 1932 about 20,000 emus began to descend upon farms around the Merredin district, about halfway between Perth and Kalgoorlie. The local farmers were powerless to stop the birds decimating their crops and so they went to their local Member of Parliament for help, 'Could they please ask Canberra to send in the Army?'

By today's standards that request would seem absurd, but in 1932 three army personnel along with Lewis machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition were dispatched to the frontline. But after a few days it appeared that their enemy was to be more difficult to defeat than they had first expected.

Today emus are farmed for their oil in particular as well as feathers, leather and meat—if only the farmers had known.